WIPAC Website Launches

 

The Water Industry Process Automation & Control Group has launched a new website as a start of a new Water Industry Process Automation & Control organisation which will aim to serve the Global Water Industry in terms of its instrumentation, process automation & control needs and drive the development of the Smart Water Industry.

 

The new website aims to be the centre of the WIPAC group insofar as it will contain some key sections including

 

Industry News - All of the news from the global water industry in terms of instrumentation, process automation & control, Big Data and the Smart Water Industry

 

WIPAC Directory - Often the Water Industry struggles to know what is sold by who. The WIPAC Directory will highlight what technologies are sold by members of the WIPAC Group

 

Knowledge Centre - The knowledge centre  will include recordings of the WIPAC Workshops and Webinars as well as links to the Sensileau platform which partners with WIPAC. The Sensileau Platform gives technical information on instrumentation types

 

WIPAC Monthly - There is an archive of each edition (from 2017 onwards) of WIPAC Monthly that can be accessed from the WIPAC Website.

 

WIPAC & Industry Events - The WIPAC website contains all the details of the WIPAC Workshops and Webinars including how to book them. Key relevant industry events are also listed in the WIPAC Website.

 

What WIPAC Does - The section on What WIPAC does details the activities of the group including the Instrumentation Apprentice Competition, the Learning Zone and the Flow Forum which are taking place at WWEM in 2018.

 

For those companies that want to get involved in WIPAC please get in touch with Oliver Grievson, the Executive Director to find out more about what WIPAC does and the packages that are available to the types of company. Alternatively,  see the About WIPAC section of this website which details what is available to what type of company.

 

Yorkshire Water win WWEM

Instrumentation Apprentice Competition

 

This year's WWEM Instrumentation Apprentice Competition has been won by Natalie Oliver & Dan Calvert of Yorkshire Water.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this year's WWEM Instrumentation Apprentice Competition, taking place  at the Telford International Conference Centre, the team of Dan Calvert & Natalie Oliver narrowly won the final of the competition beating the team of Alex Ward & Chris McGhee from United Utilities.

 

Trophies were presented to Dan & Natalie at the WWEM Gala Dinner and training days are being organised with the sponsors of the competition who include ABB, ATi, Partech, RS Hydro,  Siemens, Siris & Vega to further develop the skills that they demonstrated during the competition.

 

Andy Godley of the WRc, a supporting company of the Apprentice Competition highlighted the importance of instrumentation apprenticeships within the water industry and the need for all companies to come together to support their development.

 

Oliver Grievson, of WIPAC & Z-Tech Control Systems, who originally conceived the concept of the competition at WWEM in 2014 said:

 

“Each year we have talented apprentices come to compete at the Instrumentation Apprentice Competition and show that we have a wealth of technical talent within the water industry who will have a pivotal influence within the industry as we deliver the concept of Water 4.0”

 

 

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New MCERTS Inspectors

appointed at WWEM

 

Three new MCERTS Inspectors were awarded their certificates at this year's Water, Wastewater & Environmental Monitoring (WWEM) conference. The three new inspectors are:

 

• Chris Richardson of Siris Environmental Flow Services

 

• Lucy French of Critical Flows Systems Ltd

 

• Tomas Borondi of Critical Flow Systems Ltd

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chris Richardson of SIris Environmental Flow Services receiving his MCERTS Inspectors certificate from current scheme manager, Tony Wood.

 

The new MCERTS Inspectors were presented with their MCERTS Inspectors certificates after the WWEM Gala dinner at WWEM.

 

At the same ceremony new MCERTS products certificates were presented to suppliers who have taken the effort of undertaking the product certification process ensuring that their products meet the MCERTS standard.

 

Severn Trent set to expand trial with award-winning leak finding robot

 

Following trials earlier this year, Severn Trent is working with US-based WatchTower Robotics on creating and trialing a UK-specific leak-finding robot in the company’s pipes.

 

Created by Dr You Wu, who got his PhD from MIT this year, the robot, called Lighthouse, has now been named as a national winner of the James Dyson Award, which celebrates, encourages and inspires the next generation of design engineers.

 

The robot looks a little like a badminton shuttlecock, is very flexible and ‘fills’ pipes, allowing it to travel with the flow of the water, logging its position and leak information as it goes.

 

The data can be retrieved wirelessly and a ‘map’ of leaks can be produced before the robot is fished out using a net or flushed out of a hydrant.

 

Bob Stear, Deputy Chief Engineer at Severn Trent, said:

 

“We hosted You and his robot earlier this year and we were very excited about its potential so we’re now looking at the best way forward.

 

“We’re working closely with him on a number of initiatives, including looking at a UK-specific model, and seeing whether we can partner with other, overseas, water companies in a much-extended trial.

 

“Our initial aim is to get a dozen or so trial robots that we can hand out to our engineers in real world situations to see how they perform. It’s incredibly exciting and could be a real game changer when it comes to tackling leakage.”

 

Dr Wu said:

 

“Severn Trent offered a valuable opportunity to pilot the new leak detection robot in the UK earlier this year. WatchTower is looking forward to expanding the pilot programme with Severn Trent and to together implement this more effective leak finding and prevention solution in the UK. Eventually, we want to make water distribution systems in the UK more efficient and sustainable.”

 

Experts are testing cutting-edge techniques designed to enhance the monitoring of water worldwide as part of the €5 million MONOCLE project funded by the European Union's Horizon 2020 programme.

 

Around 20 scientists from the University of Stirling, the Plymouth Marine Laboratory and colleagues from across Europe are gathering at Loch Leven, Kinross-shire, where they will study the feasibility of using drone and other in situ technology to monitor the quality of water.

 

The work, which takes place over the next three days, will dovetail with a Stirling-led project that is using satellites to monitor water quality from space. Scientists hope that information gathered from drones or loch-side devices will help address gaps in conventional monitoring and support data collected with satellites.

 

Professor Andrew Tyler, Deputy Dean and Associate Dean for Research in the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Stirling, leads the £2.9m GloboLakes project, which uses satellites of the European Space Agency to monitor water quality, including the detection of algal concentrations, harmful algal blooms, and mineral and organic matter.

 

While the project team believe the technology has the ability to help monitor the millions of lakes across the world, the latest study, MONOCLE, addresses specific gaps in data.

Professor Tyler said: “Only a small fraction of the world’s 100 million lakes are routinely monitored – largely due to their geographical spread and the logistical and political difficulties of monitoring water.

 

“The GloboLakes project has shown that, by using satellites, we can measure the constituents that contribute to water quality by their absorption and scattering of characteristics within the water column associated with lakes, reservoirs, rivers and estuaries.”

 

“However, there are often gaps in this data – perhaps due to cloud cover, or because the bodies of water are too small to be monitored by the satellites. Therefore, the MONOCLE project now tries to fill the gaps in the data by using in situ and drone based technologies.”

 

MONOCLE involves 12 partners and is led by Stefan Simis, Earth Observation scientist at Plymouth Marine Laboratory. He said: “It is essential to obtain regular and widespread measurements of water quality in lakes, estuaries and coastal waters, both to support satellite observations and in their own right – we use satellites to relate water colour to water quality, while measurements in the field are essential to monitor further chemical and biological properties.”

 

“Deploying sensors is unfortunately still a costly effort and one of the aims of MONOCLE is to bring down this cost. Our international colleagues visiting lochs in Scotland this week are developing methods to use consumer drones and sensors which you can build yourself, alongside highly accurate measurement instruments. “

 

After trialling the technology at Loch Leven, further tests will take place in Sweden, Hungary, Romania and Tanzania – assessing and comparing both low to high cost solutions and promoting the engagement of citizens in the monitoring of water.

 

Prof Tyler added: “This project at Loch Leven is the first in a series, in which we will look at how different instruments work, how they compare and what factors influence that comparison.

 

“We hope that, by the end of this project, both low and high-tech solutions will be available to provide information that validates existing satellite technologies and provide solutions to the gaps in space and time from satellite data covering these dynamic yet vulnerable environments.”

 

Read more about GloboLakes and MONOCLE.

 

Northumbrian Water Group progresses smart device to help detect water leaks

 

An innovative new project is being established to develop a Smart device that can help detect potential issues with a customer's water supply and raise alerts before they are even aware there's a problem.

 

Led by Northumbrian Water Group, the project team has been brought together to take forward the idea that came out of one of the 13 ‘Design Sprints' held at the company's Innovation Festival 2018.

 

The ‘SMART Objectives' sprint - facilitated by global IT and business process services firm CGI - looked at ways to use Smart technology to help change and improve customers' lives. The result was "Barnacle" - an "Internet of Things (IoT)" sensor capable of monitoring changes in key water parameters, which may indicate problems with the supply.

 

Gathering data at individual customer level, ‘Barnacle' - which will be placed inside a toilet cistern without the need for installation or any technical or plumbing knowledge - would be able to:

 

• Warn of potential leaks, either in the supply pipe or deeper within the network;
• Detect discoloured water;
• Identify water leakage through the toilet;
• Identify risks of freezing pipes;

 

Northumbrian Water and CGI will be working with other interested parties to develop the idea into an opportunity to help water customers everywhere.

 

Work is underway to develop a proof of concept on the technology.

 

Eddie Wrigley, Innovation Facilitator at Northumbrian Water Group, said:

 

"At present, our ability to gather data from sensors stops well outside the individual properties, but this will allow us to gather informative and helpful information that will help us ensure that the water we deliver is always clean, clear and great tasting.

 

"Barnacle could prove an effective early warning system for other problems that could affect a home. There is so much great potential for doing exciting things with this technology that will really benefit our customers, subject to a successful proof of concept."

 

 

 

 

 

MPs call for compulsory metering and

say 15% leakage target by 2025 is not enough

 

MPs on an influential House of Commons select committee are today calling for water companies to have powers for compulsory water metering and for the amount of water lost through leaks to be halved by 2040.

 

The call comes with the publication of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report Regulation of the Water Industry.

 

Currently, compulsory water metering is only permitted in water-stressed areas. Today’s report argues that this option should be extended to all water companies.

 

Three billion litres of water leaked every day

Droughts of the type experienced in summer 2018 will become more frequent and drought resilience will require increasing the supply of water alongside reducing demand. The Committee found that a "shocking" three billion litres of water are leaked every day and believes that targets to reduce leakage by 15% by 2025 are not ambitious enough.

 

Neil Parish MP, Chair of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said:

 

“Water leaks affect the environment, as the more is leaked, the more must be taken from our rivers and other natural sources. It also sends a poor message to the public about the value of water when people are being encouraged to save water. Water companies should be leading by example. We are calling for the amount of water lost through leaks to be halved by 2040.”

 

Defra should allow all companies powers to implement compulsory metering

The Committee also heard there was strong evidence that water metering helps to reduce water use and detect when leaks are occurring. Currently, only water companies in designated water-stressed regions can make metering compulsory.

 

Neil Parish MP continued:

 

“We need to move beyond a regional approach to water metering, because there is a national need to conserve water. We call on Defra to allow all water companies the power to implement compulsory metering. That way, companies have the same tools at their disposal to reduce consumption of water in their regions. Where this might lead to significant bill increases, metering should be accompanied by strengthened support for vulnerable customers.”

 

Customer complaints

Although most customers are satisfied with their water companies, the report says there are over 2 million complaints and unwanted contacts (i.e. reporting service issues or asking for action to be taken) per year. The Committee heard that the complaints system can be unnecessarily convoluted.

 

Neil Parish MP said:

 

“Because customers have to go through so many steps to try and get complaints resolved, many will simply give up. This is not good enough. The regulator Ofwat should review the complaints process. One way to improve the system would be to require water companies to automatically pay complainants a fixed sum if they don’t resolve the complaint within 15 days”.

 

Economic regulation has become very complex in effort to mimic competitive environment

 

Ofwat is the economic regulator of water companies in England and Wales. The Committee found that economic regulation had become very complex in the effort to mimic a competitive environment that would not naturally exist because water companies are largely regional monopolies.

 

Neil Parish MP commented:

 

“The methodology for Ofwat’s five-yearly price reviews is incredibly detailed. While this reflects the complexity of Ofwat’s regulatory responsibilities, it could be quite burdensome for water companies and inhibit long-term planning. The Government needs to commission an independent review of whether the industry and its regulation is fit for the future, particularly in the context of drought resilience”.

 

The Report’s recommendations to Government include:

 

• By the end of 2019, amend regulations to allow all water companies to implement compulsory metering, using smart meters.
• Water industry should collectively be aiming to reduce leakage by 50% by 2040, rather than 2050.
• Ofwat should review how the complaints process within water companies could be streamlined. This could include a mechanism whereby water companies either automatically pay complainants a fixed sum or escalate complaints to CCWater if the complaint is not resolved by the company within 15 days.
• Review whether the Environment Agency has the necessary powers and resources to enforce a drastic reduction in sewage overflows into rivers.
• Commission an independent review of whether the water industry and regulation are fit to meet future needs such as drought resilience, as well as delivering value for money for customers.
• Report reflects National Infrastructure Commission’s findings

 

The report matches findings in the National Infrastructure Commission’s Preparing for a Drier Future report, which recommended an ambitious, affordable package of measures to increase drought resilience.

 

This included having a long-term target to halve water leakages, enabling companies to roll out smart water metering beyond water stressed areas, and investing in new water supply infrastructure which will still be needed to meet future demand.

 

A spokesman for the National Infrastructure Commission said:

 

“Today’s report highlights the real need for urgent action to better protect our water supplies, particularly as we face an increased risk of drought. We’re therefore pleased to see the environment committee reaching the same conclusion as us, that widespread roll out of smart water metering across the country is a key part of that.

 

“We also share the committee’s ambitions for halving the amount of water lost through leakages. A long-term target will unlock new technologies which, in turn, will reduce the costs and the potential impacts on customers’ bills.

 

“These measures, combined with investment in new infrastructure such as reservoirs, comprised an affordable package of measures for Government to consider. On top of this, our new study into the regulation of our utilities will also include water, and we look forward to hearing from water companies, regulators and others how we can improve the system to make it more resilient for years to come.”

Water UK – metering needs to be handled carefully

 

Responding to the EFRA Committee report, Water UK Chief Executive Michael Roberts said:

 

“The EFRA Committee’s recommendations highlight the impact of climate change and a growing population on managing water resources – challenges which water companies are working hard to address.

 

“Leakage is a big priority for the industry. But we also know there is more to do, which is why water companies have proposed the most ambitious leakage reduction programme in 20 years and are looking ahead to even further long term reductions.

 

“The Committee rightly highlights that we all need to use water wisely. Continued roll out of metering is an important tool for managing demand, but how and when it is done needs to be handled carefully as part of a wider approach reflecting the needs of different customers.”

 

United Utilities to roll out large scale artificial intelligence

across entire water network

 

 

United Utilities has become the first water company in the UK to introduce large scale artificial intelligence into its operational systems.

 

The Warrington-based company has signed a framework agreement with EMAGIN, a Canadian technology firm, to roll out AI across its entire water network in the North West of England.

 

 

The deal follows on from a successful trial which began in February after EMAGIN was selected as a finalist in United Utilities’ Innovation Lab. The Canadian team were given access to the water firm’s huge wealth of data, systems and expert knowledge to incubate their ideas and help shape their technology for the UK and European water markets.

 

EMAGIN’s artificial intelligence platform, called HARVI, can assess vast amounts of data on a wide range of factors such as weather, demand for water, pump performance and electricity prices. This is used to help make decisions on the most cost-effective and efficient way to run pumps, detect burst pipes and minimise the risk of discoloured water.

 

12 week trial in Oldham system demonstrated energy savings of 22%

 

In the 12 week trial which took place across Oldham in Greater Manchester, HARVI demonstrated energy savings of 22 per cent. United Utilities now plans to deploy the artificial intelligence platform in phases across the whole North West region by the end of 2019.

 

United Utilities Chief Operating Officer Steve Fraser, said:

 

“Water networks are complex systems, and technology like this is going to play an integral role in our drive towards ‘systems thinking’, helping us make more sense and better use of big data. It will free up our people to be more proactive and that’s going to have a direct impact on levels of service. Water companies are going to have to start thinking in this way and embracing new technology if we are to meet customers’ expectations on value and reliability.

 

“The pilot scheme clearly demonstrated the huge potential for efficiency and energy savings which will help reduce our operational costs. This is going to be vital over the coming years as we aim to reduce customer bills by 10.5 per cent in real terms from 2020.”

 

Welcoming the contract, EMAGIN Chief Executive Officer Thouheed Abdul Gaffoor said:

 

“The engagement at every level across United Utilities showed their continuous drive to deploy technology that supports their customers. This is an exciting time for us, United Utilities is one of the largest and most innovative water companies in the world and gives us a huge presence to grow in the UK and Europe.”

The two companies are now considering running further trials of the technology in other applications such as wastewater operations and leakage reduction.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Smart investment will deliver resilient infrastructure

 

Tim Bowen, Managing Director for the UK, Europe and the Middle East at global pipeline infrastructure specialist Aquam discusses why smart technologies for assset management worldwide are key to delivering resilient infrastructure.

 

Tim Bowen: After a summer of concerns about water scarcity in England and Northern Ireland, the Institution of Mechanical Engineers’ new report, Water: Drought and Flood is certainly timely. It supports the reduction of leaks as a means to building resilience into the UK’s water system.

 

This reflects the view of Ofwat, the water industry regulator for England and Wales,the Environment Agency and the UK Government. In the wake of the summer heatwave, which brought the threat of hosepipe bans in some areas, Ofwat chief executive Rachel Fletcher said the industry must to redouble its efforts to ensure the resilience of its assets and infrastructure.

 

Where the very availability of water is in question, the cost to the environment is unquantifiable and the need for action is all the more urgent. The public is not necessarily going to pay any more, and the assets are not getting any younger.

 

Rate of refurbishment and renewal globally failing to meet rate of deterioration

 

The IMechEreport invites a broad conversation about the state of water infrastructure in the UK and globally as the rate of refurbishment and renewal fails to meet the rate of deterioration. Leakage was a contributor to the crisis faced by Cape Town earlier this year when the water available to households hit critical levels.

 

Cape Town had actually cut its losses to 16% through a focus on preventative maintenance, according to the city’s director of water and sanitation, while South Africa’s overall leakage rate is at 37 per cent. However the drought revealed that the city needed to go further.

 

By comparison, the UK is on 20% of water lost to leakage, while Denmark has driven losses on its ageing network down to an enviable 7%, with one utility hitting a world-leading five per cent. This success has been achieved largely through partnerships between utilities and technology companies.

Ofwat says it expects the water sector in England and Wales to reduce leakage by a further 15% by 2025, making a similar “step change in efficiency”. Such a transformation cannot be delivered by traditional approaches to water management while the cost of produced water is too low to make a simple economic case for significant investment in network resilience.

 

Data on infrastructure condition is key to targeting investment at right assets

 

This makes it imperative that investment is targeted at the right assets at the right time, which can only be achieved with a deep understanding of the condition of the infrastructure. Aquam is already working closely with a number of utilities and municipalities in the UK and North America to develop this understanding to ensure the integrity of their pipeline assets. The company’s suite of pipe inspection and condition monitoring technologies and services are helping its clients be much more analytical in the ways they assess what needs to be done and when. Huge efficiencies are made possible by identifying weaknesses in pipes in advance, calculating the likelihood of bursts and leaks, and planning proactive maintenance.

 

The data-rich environment for asset management is made possible by smart technologies, which can mitigate catastrophic failure events, along with the accompanying water loss, heavy fines and high repair costs associated with reactive response. Examples include leak detection and pipe inspection systems which can be inserted into live potable water mains in lengths up to a kilometre.

 

Thousands of real-time data points can be captured by sensor heads that combine high definition CCTV, hydrophones and high-powered sondes. The data outputs can be analysed to assess pipe condition and pinpoint areas of interest requiring closer attention. They can also be scaled and synchronised with standard industry GIS platforms for seamless asset management.

 

Smart tech roll-out would make cities and utilities much more efficient in how they invest

 

Customer bills will not rise if these advanced techniques are widely implemented – and they could even come down! Such a roll-out would make cities and utilities much more efficient in how they invest – no longer needing to replace perfectly good water mains or spending reactively on unexpected bursts.

The customer would also benefit from resilience of supplies, which is critical in a water-scarce world. Utilities and integrated technology companies like Aquam must work together to focus efforts on the most pressing issues and find ways to undertake trials where public health and safety remain paramount.

 

Aquam is ready and able to assist utilities worldwide with their network challenges, so that smart asset management and resilience is embedded and infrastructure is built to last. In response to the challenges of climate change and urban population growth, our technology helps make more clean water available around the world.

A pioneering underground digital map system that will help improve safety conditions for workers and reduce the time that the public are inconvenienced by roadworks has launched in the North East.

 

The innovative project is being led by Northumbrian Water and Ordnance Survey (OS) in collaboration with Northern Gas Networks, Northern Powergrid, Openreach, Newcastle City Council, Sunderland City Council and Durham County Council, which have pooled data to create the underground map of part of the Sunderland area, which covers around 140,000 properties.

 

A digital map is provided of the infrastructure that exists underground, detailing pipework and cables for water, gas, electricity or telecoms. The technology works on a PC, laptop, smartphone or tablet and is accessible for workers out on the ground.

 

The technology was presented at a special showcase event at the Stadium of Light earlier this month and will be tested across a number of locations in the Sunderland area.

 

If successful, Northumbrian Water and OS will work with utility partners and local authorities to introduce an underground map covering its entire operating area.

 

Clive Surman-Wells, operational solutions manager for Northumbrian Water, said: "This is a really exciting piece of technology which could be a real game-changer for a number of different industries.

 

"Water, gas, electricity and telecoms companies all have maps of their infrastructure underground, but we are bringing all of this together on the same map, at the same time, to give us a consolidated view. We all face the same issues when digging roads, so it makes sense for us to work together to overcome them, utilising the expertise of trusted advisors Ordnance Survey.

 

"Knowing what is underground before we start digging will really help to protect the safety of our workforce, and hopefully reduce the disruption and frustration we cause to our customers through roadworks. If the project works successfully in our operating region we are keen to develop this as a national platform."

 

Andy Wilson, Ordnance Survey region director UK and Europe, said: "Working on the solid geospatial principles of enabling data exchange, this project aims to demonstrate the significant operational and customer outcome benefits that can be created by providing a coordinated view of assets to the relevant parties.

 

"If successful in Sunderland, we are keen to explore with government partners ways of making an underground map available for the whole of Great Britain."

 

The idea for an underground map for the North East was first explored during the five-day OS-sponsored ‘mapathon' at Northumbrian Water's 2018 Innovation Festival, which took place at Newcastle Racecourse in July.

OS, utilities companies and local authorities worked together to create a first version of the map, develop data and a business case.

 

Surman-Wells added: "This is an issue that utilities have faced for decades, and it is only through the Innovation Festival that we were able to bring together the various stakeholders involved to work on a solution. We have now been able to produce a sharing agreement that is agreeable for us all to take forward."